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NFL Mock Draft 2009 Draft of 2009 Lacks Star Power NFL Draft 2009: Getting Started Super Bowl Well Worth Tuning In For
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Prospects On Center Stage NBA Preview 2008/09: Final Call
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Hoops du Jour: College Roundup By Ron Jumper With the college basketball season really starting to crank up, I felt the need to discuss what has caught my eye. Lucky for you, I'm not going to blab on and on about UNC dominating everyone or about the numbers Blake Griffin is putting up. No, instead I thought I would dive a little bit deeper and hit on all the interesting things going on in college basketball. What Mid-Major conference is surpassing expectations? What makes this Gonzaga team different from ones in the past? Who has jumped on the scouts radar that no one saw coming? All that and more just ahead. So, before the season, there was the usual talk about the WCC and the MVC being top conferences. However, there has been a different conference that has been making the headlines. How about the Sun Belt? Western Kentucky spanked Louisville by 14 and they haven't even been the most impressive team so far this season. I would give that honor to UALR, as they sit at 5-0 with a win over MVC power Creighton. The Trojans are doing it with defense, as that is how head coach Steve Shields likes it. They have depth and quality guard play to go along with surprising athleticism. Well surprising to some, not to yours truly. Some experts around the country would say they are doing it without big recruits or because of the system, not due to talent and ability. I beg to differ. See, this gives me the perfect platform to express my frustrations about recruiting services while I'm at it, especially in the state of Arkansas. The Trojans have 7 players that average over 5 points a ball game, 5 are from Arkansas. While that is a statement in and of itself, that is just the half of it. See, in Arkansas, the quality of AAU is outstanding every single year. Despite being a small state, the Hawks, Wings, and Rockets have long established themselves as perennial powers on the AAU circuit. Mike Smith and Brandon Patterson played together on the Hawks. Steven Moore made a name for himself on the AAU circuit as well. Last but certainly not least, John Fowler of Blytheville was an absolute star for the Arkansas Lakers. Fowler single-handedly destroyed my Rockets teams on more than one occasion. Fowler was loyal to a fault though, had he just gone and played for a better known AAU program he might have signed at a bigger school. Trust me when I say he had every opportunity to do so. This is a talented team that wins because they are as talented if not more talented then the teams they are playing against. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Just because I'm focusing on UALR to make my point, doesn't mean I have to stop there. How about I go back to Western Kentucky for a minute? They have starting center Jeremy Evans who is from Crossett, AR. He slipped out of the state like an illegal immigrant crossing the border, not a peep. How could that be? What are the scouts in Arkansas doing? It is time to wake up. Just because they sign with Arkansas doesn't make them a top prospect. Arkansas signees Michael Sanchez and Nate Rakestraw were 4-and 3-star recruits back in 2007, which is laughable if you examine how they've panned out. Meanwhile, Anthony Brock is at Alabama and he was just a 2-star. Ask guys who follow the AAU circuit and they will speak highly of Brock. In Arkansas, if you aren't being recruited by Arkansas or you commit somewhere else other than with the local Hogs, the media tries to ignore you and limit the coverage you receive. If a less talented prospect is being touted by Arkansas however, then he magically becomes the next best thing since sliced bread. It is a travesty to those respective prospects involved, but credit Steve Shields for weeding through the non-sense to put together a very good basketball team. Staying within the Sun Belt, remember that Jon Brady guy? He used to coach at LSU, took them to the Final Four, then was fired randomly when the real problem with the basketball program at that time was a lack of top notch basketball facilities to compete with the rest of the SEC. Well, now he is at Arkansas State and he is doing a great job so far. The Red Wolves sit at 4-1, good for the second best record in the conference. The future is very bright for ASU. Changing gears... This Gonzaga team is different than those of the past. Any idea why? They actually have NBA talent on the roster now. They've had a nice player here and there (Adam Morrison) but they don't have a lot of guys get drafted very often. As for this team, they have three guys that may very well make it to the league at some point. Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye, and Jeremy Pargo are all more than capable of making it to the NBA. In the past, they beat you by playing fundamental basketball and hitting a lot of 3's. Take the Tennessee game, they still made threes (11) and played fundamental basketball, but they blocked 7 shots and were able to run with a very athletic Vols team. Simply put, this may be a Zags team that can actually cut down the nets, not just make a Sweet 16 run with an upset or two along the way. In the past, they would upset teams and make March Madness ... well... live up to its nickname. However, you knew they weren't going to actually pull off the unthinkable. This team just might... Mid-Major Prospects: Stefon Jackson, UTEP Russell Hicks, Florida International Derrick Brown, Xavier Jerome Jordan, Tulsa Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State Gerald Lee, Old Dominion We discuss the parity in college basketball but, as I've discussed above, it is the inexact science that is recruiting that also allows very good players to not be properly evaluated and end up at the mid-major level. Here are some players that have caught my eye so far this season. Don't worry, there will be much more prospect discussion as the basketball season continues to crank up. December 1, 2008 |
| NCAA Football | |
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Be Careful What You Wish For
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| NCAA Basketball | |
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Jumpology: My Bracket Jumpology: Scouting The Heavyweights Jumpology: Reviewing The Bracket
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